A note from the Dean

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Dean Douglas Sylvester

Alumni & Friends:

We here at ASU Law never stop being amazed at the successes of our alums, students, and faculty. In this edition of the newsletter you can read about just a small sampling of those achievement. We have the incredible story of John Sandweg (’02) who taken on the important and challenging role as acting General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In the story we will hear from John’s father, Bill (’74), as well Isaac Gabriel (’02) and Noah Kroloff ('03), who will share their thoughts on John and their own law school experiences.

There is also a story about Pamela Höh—the newest addition to our Career Services office whose role is to find jobs for graduates of the College. ASU Law is, perhaps, the only law school in the country to have poured this many resources into helping graduates of the College obtain gainful employment. This is just one more way that we are standing behind all of our graduates during these difficult economic times.

We also want to use the newsletter to keep you up to date on the newest innovations at ASU Law. In this edition you will read about our progress in creating the first law-school founded law firm—the ASU Alumni Law Group. There are also updates on our impending move downtown, our newest curricular innovation, the North American Law Degree, and news about our faculty, including Rebecca’s Tsosie appointment as a Regents’ Professor—the highest academic honor ASU bestows on a faculty member.

Finally, this newsletter should be a source of information about upcoming events at ASU Law—although our website remains the best option for hearing about these events. One upcoming event that we hope many of you will attend is the Willard H. Pedrick Society Event on May 9. This event includes a book-signing with Jeffrey Toobin, senior analyst for CNN, staff writer for The New Yorker, and best-selling author. It will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, at the Tempe Mission Palms. You can register here.

Although there is much to be excited about this year, we end the year on a bittersweet note. While we all prepare to celebrate the Class of 2013 and their amazing academic achievements at our upcoming Convocation, we are also mourning the loss of our beloved colleague, Joe Feller, killed when he was struck by a car. It reminds us all of the fleeting nature of our time together, and reminds us how important it is to stay connected. Please join us at a memorial for him at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, in the Great Hall. More details are available here.